Merry Christmas!
Even if this sort of thing is not your bag, you can still appreciate these Christmas cards that I’ve picked out just for you — they picture baseball players born on Christmas Day:
(full list of baseball Christmas birthdays here)
Below is a brief rundown of each player and card. The link in each case takes you to that player’s page over on WaxPackGods.com, where you’ll find any related articles I’ve written over the years, plus links to listings of the player’s cards online.
1975 Topps Gene Lamont (#593): Lamont (born 1946) would go on to spend most of the 1990s as manager of the White Sox and Pirates. He guided the Sox to the last division title in the old American League West (1993) and the first in the new American League Central (1994).
1976 Topps Manny Trillo (#206): This is Trillo’s (b. 1950) first solo card after two four-player rookie issues in 1974 and 1976. In a 17-year career, Trillo won three Gold Gloves and two World Series, making the All-Star cut four times.
1978 Topps Julio Gonzalez (#389): Gonzalez (b. 1952) was a light-hitting middle infielder who saw playing time with three franchises from 1977 through 1983. This is his rainbow-clad rookie card.
1981 Topps Charlie Lea (#293): Lea (b. 1956) was part of the Expos talented young core that always seemed to be on the brink of greatness in the 1980s. Before injuries crushed his career after 1984, Lea’s 1981 rookie cards were gaining hobby steam.
1982 Fleer Wallace Johnson (#192): Johnson (b. 1956) was “Wally” according to the PA announcer when I “found” him as a member of the Indianapolis Indians in 1985. Along with Skeeter Barnes and Razor Shines, Johnson became an instant and eternal favorite. This is one of Johnson’s rookie cards.
1983 Topps Jeff Little (#499): Little (b. 1954) made seven appearances for the Cardinals in 1980, then didn’t show up in the majors again until 1982. He took the mound 33 times as a low-profile reliever for the Twins that summer to cap his big league career. The next year, he landed on this nifty Topps card.
1986 Donruss Ty Gainey (#31): Gainey (b. 1960) spent the early 1980s in the Astros farm system building his reputation as a speedy outfielder with a little pop. He debuted in Houston in 1985, then appeared as a Rated Rookie in this most “eighties” of 1980s Donruss sets. He’d be done in the majors by the end of 1987.
1989 Score Rich Renteria (#142): Renteria (b. 1961) has been “Rick” as a manager over the past decade or so, but he was “Rich” during his five-year playing career. This is one of his rookie cards.
1990 Topps Marty Pevey (#137): Pevey (b. 1962) debuted for the Expos at age 26 on May 16, 1989. His last appearance was on June 29 of the same year. But this was the heart of the Junk Wax explosion, so that small sampling was enough to yield multiple rookie cards, including this base Topps issue.
1994 Topps Scott Bullett (#584): Bullett (b. 1968) signed (undrafted) with the Pirates out of high school in 1988 and made brief appearances for the Bucs in 1991 and 1993 … and on this Topps card in 1994. After the strike of 1994-95, Bullett made it into more than 100 games for the Cubs in each of 1995 and 1996, but never returned to the majors after that.
—
Another Christmas card that deserves a mention is the 1981 Topps Mariners Future Stars (#282), which features Rick Anderson, born on Christmas in 1953:
So today would have been his 70th birthday, but he passed away at just 35 in 1989. According to his obituary in The Sporting News, Anderson died holding a letter from a fan.
On a lighter note, today is Rickey Henderson’s 65th birthday, which makes him the most hot-dog senior citizen you’re likely ever to run across.
May your 2023 Christmas tidings be decked with extra mustard!
—Adam